Mordechai Aaron Gintsburg

Born in Salantai, Lithuania, Mordechai Aaron Gintsburg spent his life in Kovno and Vilna. Gintsburg took a moderate position in contemporary debates about reconciling Judaism and modernity, arguing that enlightened ideals of reason were not in opposition to religion, but a means to counteract superstition. Perhaps with this effort in mind, he translated many secular histories (including stories about the discovery of the New World) into Yiddish and Hebrew, and was at the forefront of efforts to revitalize Hebrew as a modern language. Besides these translations, Gintsburg wrote widely, and together with Solomon Salkind, he founded the first Jewish secular school in Lithuania in 1841.